


Ashes to Ashes: Hunter

by Konori



Series: Ashes to Ashes [2]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, Alternate Universe - TImeline Diversion, Ashes to Ashes Universe, BAMF James "Rhodey" Rhodes, BAMF Tony Stark, Blood and Gore, Civil War Team Iron Man, M/M, Not Steve Rogers Friendly, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, The rest of the Rogue Avengers are on neutral ground right now, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, almost Merchant of Death Tony Stark, not wanda maximoff friendly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-17
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2020-09-06 07:41:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20287867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Konori/pseuds/Konori
Summary: The world needs Heros. Villains are just a cause for them or a result of them.The Rogue Avengers wanted a villain.Instead, they get something much worse.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This _**whole thing**_ started when I listened to [Hunter - RIAYA feat. John Mark McMillan](https://youtu.be/w51hDqJCSg8) played in the new Terminator movie trailer. Like, **BAM!** Do I regret this? No, no I do not.
> 
> This should be considered an... alternate timeline/diversion of Ashes to Ashes that takes place right after chapter 6: Interlude: Tempestuous Return, in Ashes to Ashes, but about a month before chapter 5: Noxious Fumes Part 1.

“They want a villain,” Tony says as he looks James right in the eyes.

James sees the shifting, lurking creature beneath his brother’s honeyed eyes. Barely restrained. _Starving_.

Tones’ skin vibrates. His face ‘glitching’ -as Parker calls it- for a moment, showing the behemoth that nearly killed Strange and leveled the Compound.

“That’s not what they are going to get.”

James takes in a deep breath, trying to calm the tempest brewing in him at the injustices and blame thrown on his brother’s shoulders time and time again. The hits just kept coming, and once, James had come to believe that nothing could completely _shatter_ Tony since he survived Afghanistan and became Iron Man. That Tony would always get back up, piece himself back together, and move on, leave behind who hurt him and become stronger for it.

Not this time.

Or, at least, not with as much care until that writhing, starving thing in him is satisfied.

He can see that. Too many betrayals all at once from his _mate_ and those he considered _family_. It was like Stane all over again, only tenfold, Just like with that bastard, Tony hadn’t seen it coming. Then HYDRA had him for _six months_.

“Villains come, do their whole villain spiel, cause destruction, then escape or get locked up,” Tony drawls. “We’re _way_ past that.”

A tooth filled, feral grin creeps across his brothers’ face. His teeth too sharp to be human, and his skin vibrating like a living thing.

Maybe it is now.

“They thought we were hunting them before, but they’ll regret not finishing us off.”

Tony’s eyes blacken as his pupils slit and burn like hell on earth.

Death is too good for them.

“Are you hungry, brother?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The HYDRA base is supposed to be manned by a relatively small group of scientists and guards.

Natasha brought him information on the base two weeks ago after Shuri informed him she needed more data before she could help Bucky. He was refusing the way she proposed -and Steve was close to shaking his friend to get an answer as to _why_-, so Shuri has been forced to look into other options. Hence raiding HYDRA bases Bucky remembers being at, but they couldn’t act on any information until they managed to get enough supplies to make each trip. It frustrated Steve that they couldn’t do anything as quickly as they used to with the restrictions T’Challa has put on them when in Wakanda and his refusal to provide them with equipment. It means they can’t reach people in time, especially when the LEOs or the TASK force arrive to try and take them in.

Not that Tony, Vision, and Rhodes have the same problems working under the Accords...

Why would they? They were being praised high and low by the public while Steve and everyone that followed him against the government trying to control them was slandered, their reputations ripped apart. Scott and Clint’s families couldn’t handle the backlash, so they made deals and left. Steve understood. They had to protect their families as he did.

_He’s my friend._

_I was your **mate**._

Steve shakes his head, pulling himself out of that… memory. Trying to erase the look of utter devastation in Tony’s eyes away, because Tony… he doesn’t _get_ it. He _had_ to save Bucky. Bucky was- 

_No, **focus**, Rogers. You, Natasha, Wanda, and Sam are here to do a job. To help Bucky._

“Thought you said there would be guards,” Sam mumbles, passing the binoculars to Nat.

“There were,” she says as she takes them and looks through them.

“Maybe your info is out of date.”

“It’s _not_.” Nat hisses.

Steve shivers, instincts flaring, and he jerks his head around, trying to find the source.

Someone… Some_thing_ is watching them.

“What is it?” Wanda asks him.

“I think we’re being watched,” Steve says, taking one last look around before motioning for them to head out. “Stay alert. We don’t know what we’ll find here now.”

They cautiously make their way toward the base, tense and on high alert. Steve notices Nat and Wanda start looking around, wide-eyed -like hunted prey- as they pass through the open gate.

“I don’t know about you guys, but this has a certain… post-apocalypse feel to it,” Sam says with a weak chuckle.

It makes the feeling worse, knowing that a baseline Human can sense something is off.

They reach a doorway and Sam steps forward to open it.

“Locked,” he says, pointing to the keypad, the light on it flashing red.

Nat steps up beside him, fox magic circling her hand as she waves it over the keypad.

“It’s six digits. Give me a minute to figure it out.”

The _screech_ of metal against metal startles them all, and they look around wildly for the source. Steve looks up, seeing a piece of sheet metal dangling over the edge of the roof. The wind must have moved it. He takes in a deep breath to steady his nerves.

“False alarm. Just some loose sheet metal.”

The others breathe for a moment to settle themselves as well before Nat gets back to opening the door. It takes her longer than any of them anticipated, but eventually, she gets it open.

The door doesn’t move.

Sam grabs the handle and pulls. It barely budges.

“Gonna need some help here, Cap. I think it used to be automated, cuz it’s damn heavy.”

“Right,” Steve says and steps forward, motioning Sam and Nat behind him. “Wanda, take point and be ready. We don’t know what we’re dealing with.”

She nods, her face grim as her hands light up, and she projects a barrier in front of her.

“On three.”

One.

Two.

Steve heaves the door open.

A rush of air escapes from within the base.

No one comes screaming out, no gunfire.

Nothing.

Steve moves around the door and takes point, stepping into the base.

It’s dark and quiet. He’d think it was actually abandoned if not for the emergency lights flashing.

The sense of unease gets worse.

“Something’s wrong,” Wanda says.

“No kidding,” Sam grumbles, pulling out his other gun and releasing the safety. “This is less apocalypse and more horror movie, man.”

“Should we leave you outside?” Nat asks him, coming in behind him.

“Hell no, that’s just asking to die.”

_Clickclickclickclick!_

“Quiet!” Steve hisses at them, his own gun raised in the direction thinks he heard the noise.

He can’t be sure. There are hallways to both sides, one in front, and a staircase leading down. Another corridor if the flashing emergency lights down there are accurate. His best guess is it came from the hall to their left.

“What is it?” Nat whispers after a moment.

The sound doesn’t come again. Instead of making him feel better, it makes his heart race.

“Don’t know. Just heard a clicking, clanging sound.”

“Might be the power trying to come back on.”

Steve nods stiffly, even if he can’t agree with her.

“Should we split up?” Sam asks, clearly nervous.

“_No_, we stick together. This might be a trap HYDRA set up.”

“But how would they-”

“We’ll figure that out later. First, we need to get to the control room and grab what we came here for.”

“It’s on the third level, according to the blueprints,” Nat says, taking point and moving to the stairs, charging her bites and turning on a flashlight before clipping it to her shoulder. “Stay close.”

“Right, sure, but I’m going to prop this door open, so we don’t lock ourselves in,” Sam says, looking around. “Because, I don’t know about you guys, but baseline Human here would like a sure way out in case something tries to eat us down there.”

“This isn’t that kind of base,” Nat sighs.

“You know that one hundred percent?”

Her silence is answer enough for Sam, who finally finds something the door won’t crush easily. 

“Cap? Mind shoving this at the top real tight?”

Steve sighs but does as Sam asks, grabbing the metal pipe and working it in tight. Better to have his Human friend feel more secure than freaking out the entire time.

“Isn’t that just an invitation for anything out there to come in?” Wanda asks.

“Did you sense anything out there?”

“No.”

“Then it’s fine,” Sam says firmly.

Nat rolls her eyes and goes down the stairs first when Steve gives her the go-ahead, Sam following her, him behind Sam, and Wanda bringing up the rear, her hand clasped in his free one so she can keep an eye behind them. It’s a natural formation now since… well…

The second-floor hallway grows darker as they make their way further into the base. The red emergency lights barely keep anything lit, and the flashing ones make it difficult to see much even with his twice enhanced senses.

They’ve been walking for about five minutes before he realizes it.

Scents… Where are all the scents?

“Nat,” Steve hisses, pulling Sam to a stop as he halts. “I’m not picking up any scents.”

“They probably have blockers like that one base had.”

“No, I’m not picking up _anything_. I’m barely picking up any of _us_,” he growls, resisting the urge to walk up to Nat and _shake_ her.

Natasha has been more reckless since Tony’s escape from HYDRA and his return to the media spotlight. She’s been brushing off his concerns or ignoring orders with more frequency and taking risks she never would have before.

“We still need the data, Steve,” she hisses back. “Otherwise, this is a waste of time and resources.”

She’s right. He knows this. But his instincts are _screaming_ at him that _something_ is terribly wrong with this place.

“Wanda, do you sense anything or anyone here?” he asks, turning to her in the dim light to see her eyes glowing crimson.

“I… I can’t tell. It feels like there’s… _something_, but I can’t determine if it’s the electricity or a living being.”

“Have you had this problem before?”

“Yes, but usually the bad guys are already shooting at us, so it’s not like I need to find them. It happens when we’re near large power supplies or when Thor is throwing around lightning.”

“Damnit,” Steve curses under his breath before speaking only loud enough that his voice won’t echo off the walls. “Keep alert and eyes open. Something's down here, I can _feel_ it.”

The others nod and Nat continues leading them at a more brisk pace. They finally come upon another set of downward stairs and take them. If it’s even possible, it seems even darker in this hallway.

Well, there are fewer emergency lights, that’s probably it…

The _clicking, clanging_ sound happens again. Loud enough for Sam, Nat, and Wanda to hear, making them jump in surprise.

“Was that what you heard?” Nat whispers, looking him in the eyes, her own wide, glowing and dilated.

“Yes.”

“Still might be the generator.”

“I’d believe you if you didn’t look spooked to hell,” Sam grumbles as he stares at Nat.

Steve turns to check on Wanda, squeezing her hand gently to get her attention when he sees the back of her head. 

She doesn’t turn.

“Wan-” her nails dig sharply into his head.

He looks up over her head and _freezes_.

The lights cut out.

On.

He’s not there anymore.

“Steve?” comes Sam’s voice and a touch to his shoulder.

It startles him, and he lashes out on instinct.

Sam stumbles back, Nat catching him and her eyes widen as she looks at him in shock.

“What the hell, Steve?!”

“Sorry,” he rasps out, whipping back around.

“You’re freaking me out, man. What’s going on?”

“You didn’t see it?” Wanda asks, her voice shaky.

“See what?” the Air Man grumbles, rubbing his shoulder as he shuffles around Steve to look where he and Wanda can’t bring themselves to look away from. “I don’t see anything, though that’s not saying much since, ‘hi, baseline _Human_, here’.”

“It was… something. Just standing down the hall, _staring_ at us.”

“It was Tony,” Steve grits out, swallowing to wet his dry throat. “Nat, Tony’s here.”

“_That_ wasn’t Stark,” Wanda hisses. “It was… it was _morphing_ out of shape and-”

“Both of you snap out of it!” Natasha snaps. “There wasn’t anyone there. _Especially_ not Tony, Steve.”

“It was-”

“Tony is in Vienna working on more amendments to the Accords,” she snarls. “Why would the U.N. send him _here_ when he’s needed there?”

“Steve… she’s got a point. It was on international news.”

“You don’t think Tony could have wrapped that up and made his way here?” he growls, finally turning around to stare them down. “Tony knows how to play the field. He could be here, he _is_ here.”

“And you’re acting irrational,” Nat hisses, eyes flashing fox gold as her temper flares more violently than he’s ever seen her get.

Tony probably had. They had been close once…

“Politics don’t move that fast, Rogers. Tony may be able to get them to move _faster_, but it’s still going to take more time than that for the talks to be done. _Tony’s not here_.”

“But-”

“_No_. Now move. You’re wasting our time.”

Wanda grips Steve’s hand until he’s sure her knuckles are white. She stays quiet, but she doesn’t take her eyes off the other end of the hall. 

Natasha walks away, and they can’t do anything but follow her further into the base. When they finally reach the control room, they are dismayed to see that it doesn’t have its own backup power source.

“What do we do now?” Sam asks, watching as Nat starts going through drawers and cabinets looking for something. “What are you looking for?”

“There should be a map or something that will tell us the location of the reset switch.”

“You really think they’d just have that-”

He shuts his mouth when she pulls out a thick manual with Russian words in bold across the front.

“I stand corrected.”

Steve decided to leave them to it, looking around the ill-lit space until his eyes fall on Wanda. She’s staring at the doorway.

“Sense anything?” he asks quietly as he walks up beside her.

“Nothing new, but that’s what bothers me.”

“What we saw?”

“Yes. _Something_ was there, but I can’t _sense_ it. That’s not something I want to meet.”

Steve agrees, but before either of them can say anymore, Natasha starts hissing and growling in Russian.

“What?” Steve asks, alarmed at the amount of emotion Nat is -_has_ been- expressing. “What does it say.”

“Someone has to go down to the generator and kickstart it.”

“Then we’ll-”

“And someone has to be here to initiate the sequence. It shuts down again after thirty seconds if no one does it.”

She looks at him, eyes blazing burnished gold, “We have to split up.”

“Nat-”

“I have to stay here unless any of you can read and type Russian. Who is staying with me?”

“Where is the generator located?” Sam asks, his face set with his ‘no-nonsense’ expression.

Steve doesn’t get why anyone names their expressions these days.

“South end, five floors down.”

Same whistles, “Yea, I’m gonna stay here with Widow, Cap. I’ll be dead weight if you have to book it outta there.”

“Sam…”

“I’m not kidding. I can’t use my wings down here, and Redwing is back on the jet charging since it’s being… whatever it is a ‘rudimentary A.I.’ is.”

“He has a point, Steve,” Wanda says. “At least with my powers and your strength, we can get back quickly.”

Steve hates this plan, but they’re right.

“Alright, but keep your coms on and loud enough to hear us.”

“Copy. Don’t do anything stupid,” Sam says with a grin as Nat hands him a hastily drawn map to the generator room.

Steve rolls his eyes, turning on another flashlight and clipping it to his suit shoulder before taking point, leaving the control room with Wanda close behind.

“Kill some zombies for me if there are any!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Clickclickclickclickclick!_

The sound has been coming more often and louder the deeper Steve and Wanda go into the base. Ton-The figure has also shown up more often, always far enough away they can’t make out any defining details, only staring and _unfailingly_ giving Steve heart palpitations every time it appears.

“I hate this place,” Wanda whispers, her voice shaky and her grip on his shoulder tight. “Are we sure we can’t get the information at another base?”

“Bucky specifically mentioned this one. If he remembers it more than the others, it means he’s been here more often.”

“Or all they did to him here was wipe him and set him loose. This base looks more like a headquarters instead of a testing facility.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Neither do you.”

Steve opens his mouth to reply when the emergency lights cut out, leaving Steve’s flashlight the only way to see.

“Shit.”

He pulls out his spare flashlight and attaches it to his other shoulder. Steve then turns to check on Wanda and screeches in terror, shooting several rounds as he pulled her to him, picking her up and running down the ill-lit hall, making hard turns and dashing down steps. He vaguely realizes he’s running toward the generator room over the pounding of his heart and Wanda’s, Nat’s, and Sam’s frantic questions in his ears. Wanda tries to look behind them to see what spooked him, but he knows it’s too dark for her to see.

Steve doesn’t stop until he body slams through the generator room door, shoves it closed and locks it. Shakily, he turns, leaning his back against it after Wanda slips off his shoulder. He heaves in air, and his legs give out, his armor scraping against the door as he slides down until his ass is on the floor.

“Steve, what the hell happened?” Sam’s calm voice comes as if from down a very long hall -_don’t think about that, don’t do it, Rogers_. “Talk to me, man. All the lights cut out, then we hear gunshots and you screeching over the coms.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They say the best revenge is living well.

“Who will you go after first?” James asks, knowing his brother is going to draw this out.

Once upon a time, James would have agreed. After seeing people walk over and tear Tony down for years and watching his brother rip himself apart over their cruelty as he puts himself back together, no retaliation, no anger at the assholes who messed him up? James wished, many times, that his brother was a little more selfish. Less conditioned by Howard and Stane to just roll over for the people he cares about and _do_ something about it. Even their hunt isn’t _really_ about revenge. It’s justice for those who suffered under the actions of the Avengers. Their lack of accountability. Mostly, it’s about the Rogues actions leading up to the confrontation at the airport.

Doesn’t mean James or Tony can’t get their own justice while they’re at it, and it seems Tony is finally ready to do just that for himself.

“Wilson,” Tony answers as he reworks amendments on his tablet.

Why he bothers using them anymore is beyond James. The hologram of the nano-bracers Tony is _also_ working on -with his _mind_\- is also unnecessary, but he knows Tonys has it up for James to make suggestions or work on it himself if he feels like it.

“He’s Rogers’ right hand and confidant. Taking Wilson first will destabilize him.”

His brother, despite everything good in him, knows how deep to cut the wounds to leave you _bleeding_ out slowly.

“What’s the plan?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Natasha only speaks once Same gets Steve calm enough to talk coherently.

“Steve, what did you see?”

“Not much,” he says, his voice shaking and tinny over the com.

They must finally be down at the generator. 

“Just… this giant _mouth_ with rows of teeth opened so wide that…”

He chokes up, and Nat hears him taking several deep breaths.

“They looked like they could swallow a person whole.”

Natasha takes a moment to let that sink in before she speaks.

“Are you both safe?

“We’re in the generator room. I locked the door if that’s what you mean.”

“There’s another door into the room on the other side, and the ventilation is wide, Steve. If it’s a mutant snake or something, it can get to you through there. You need to find the switch and get the power back on so I can get the information. Then we can get the hell out of here and hope whatever is down here dies.”

“Right… lead me to it.”

Natasha leads Steve and Wanda through the room to where the console is located, Steve telling her what he sees for confirmation.

“It looks like the setup in the control room, but with a switch breaker.”

“That’s it. The power switch will be on the far right. It should look like a lever. You’ll need to prime it three times before pushing the large red button below it. Then, you need to quickly flip all the switches on the breaker. I can only initiate the sequence after you do that.”

“Copy.”

Ten seconds later, the emergency lights cut back on, and one of the computer’s screens comes to life with green text.

Initiate sequence code…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The lights nearly blind him when they cut on, the generator almost deafening as it whirls to life.

Something red above the console catches his attention.

He freezes.

_You should have left the lights off_, is written in deep, dripping red across the wall.

Wanda shrieks in terror, making Steve whip around as he draws his gun, eyes wide.

He nearly throws up as the stench of death that he had been scent-blind to hits his nose.

“Oh god,” Wanda gags before turning around and losing whatever is left in her stomach.

Bodies.

A mountain of mangled bodies in HYDRA uniforms and scientist robes just piled there with more red writing on the floor.

_Shall we play a game?_


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Run, run as fast as you can.
> 
> Can you catch the boogyman?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year! Have a new (unbetaed ><) chapter to start off the new year!

“Wanda?!” Natasha barks over the com when they hear the girl shriek. “Steve? What’s going on?”

When neither of them answers, the only sounds from the com are Wanda throwing up and Steve’s harsh breathing, does Sam hear Natasha snarl. Her fingers fly over the keys before she stops, frozen for a moment before her hands are moving again.

Sam stands slightly off to the side and behind her with his gun drawn and lets her work, glancing at the door occasionally in case something decides to come in. The door is shut, but you never know. Mutant snake thing might be able to open doors.

He waits until he doesn’t hear Wanda losing her lunch before he speaks.

“You two alright?”

“No,” Steve rasps into the com. “We… we found the HYDRA agents.”

“Were they having a pow-wow or something?” he asks despite suspecting otherwise.

“They’re _all_ dead.”

“Sam,” Natasha says, waving him closer to her side, pointing at the screens that display the security camera feeds.

She points to one, and Sam has to swallow several times before he can speak.

“We need to get out of here,” he croaks.

“Yes. Wanda, Steve, get back up here, we’re leaving.”

“Did you get-”

“It’s been wiped. I think whatever is down here is a Shifter. They lured us here for a reason, Steve, and I’d rather not find out what that is.”

“The bodies-”

“We’ll tell T’Challa. We don’t have the time or man-power to deal with them while the Shifter is loose.”

“Alright,” Steve says after a moment. “Come on, Wanda. Stay close.”

Sam waits by Natasha stiffly as the minute's tick by. 

“So you think it’s a Shifter?” he asks to pass the time.

“You think an _actual_ snake can wipe a base’s hard drive and set up an elaborate ploy to get us here?”

“It could be a very determined mutant snake genetically engineered by HYDRA who got tired of the assholes feeding it rats.”

“You read too many comics.”

Sam scoffs and avoids looking at the security screens, so he doesn’t accidentally look at the carnage down in the generator room with its ominous messages that make his heart pound.

_Hsssssssss_

Something flicks by his left ear, and a slightly warm breeze hits the back of his neck.

He nudges Natasha with a foot.

“It’s here,” he says before turning around with a shout, shooting his gun at its face when he sees the glowing slits he assumes are its eyes.

“Sam?!” Steve’s voice rings in his ear, but he can’t focus on that now.

The thing doesn’t even flinch as the bullets ping off its face.

_Clickclickclickclickclick!_

Natasha snarls, eyes glowing burnt gold as the _zap_ of her Bites charging echo in the now crowded room before she lunges at the creature. It’s head jerks toward her, jaws practically unhinged, and the bottom jaw splitting open -Steve wasn’t kidding about the rows of teeth. It roars -metallic and deep like the gators he’d hear down in Louisiana-, startling Natasha into aborting her attack to scramble away. 

“Sam! Get out of here!” Natasha barks once she recovers and starts shooting at its neck instead of getting in close.

“Not without you!”

Sam isn’t entirely sure what happens next. What he does know is that despite the lights on, he hadn’t noticed anything distorted by the door, _nothing_. Then there’s a… warping in the air, and the creatures’ body -Shifter… whatever the fuck it is- appears in a mass of black scales and feathers, completely blocking the door as it uncoils and rises to its feet. Its mouth held wide open and hissing at Natasha like a snake.

One blink.

Natasha is pinned to the floor, her neck between the forked end of its tail.

Another.

The thing turns towards him, and he only registers it has another set of arms when they grab him, his own arms trapped against his sides in one clawed hand. His legs get snatched up by the other before he’s turned, and his back is shoved against its chest.

“Sam! We’re just down the hall. Hang on!” Steve shouts in his ear.

_Clickclickclickclickclick!_

It’s fucking _laughing_, he just knows it.

He goes to answer Steve, but yelps instead when it lifts up. Sam only has a moment to realize he's being taken by the creature through a hole in the ceiling that hadn’t been there earlier before it goes dark, and he hears Steve yelling his name.

“Steve!” he yells when he can see again and realizes where the creature took him. “Second floor! Second floor!”

It tosses him to the ground as it climbs out of the hole. Sam groans as his arms jar painfully against the floor, but he forces himself to flip over and scoot away as fast as he can while he shoots at its chest.

The bullets don’t do anything except make it bend down and snap its jaws in Sam’s face before stepping over him. He falls to his elbows as it moves and twists to face the hole. The extra limbs settle firmly on his shoulders, claws digging lightly into his shirt like a warning, keeping him from struggling unless he wants to be ripped apart.

Seconds later, Wanda comes flying out of the hole, almost falling back into it as the creature shoves its’ face into her space and _roars_.

The creature's _skin_ ripples.

Wanda reacts.

She flings a blast of her powers at its face with a screech, and Sam feels a spark of hope. The creature's skin vibrates so harshly it looks like its glitching and feels like it's pulsing. The grip on his shoulders tighten instead of loosening, claws digging into his skin, breaking it, and its hissing becomes that terrifying, clicking laugh.

_Clickclickclickclickclick!_

He only glimpses Wanda’s horrified face before something wraps around him from shoulder to knee, and he’s yanked back and into the air as he hears Steve call out.

“Sam!”

The floor blurs, and he sees a flash of red as the creature leaps over Wanda and runs down the hall. He looks up -because despite running, the creature's tail is incredibly steady- and sees Steve and Wanda giving chase. They are quickly being outpaced. Looking down, he can see why. Its' hands are strong enough to run on in some wonky but efficient run.

“Run faster, Steve!” he yells as they cut around a corner, the creature losing no momentum as it uses its limbs to keep it steady on the walls and floor.

They are up a flight of stairs in moments, and Sam doesn’t see Steve or Wanda appear before they are around another corner. It skids to a stop a few moments later and leaps up.

The last thing Sam sees is the creature pulling him through another hole in the ceiling before a sharp pain hits his head.

He blacks out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Steve can’t hear Sam or the Shifter anymore.

“Sam!”

Nothing.

Claw marks are the only sign showing where the Shifter’s path. He follows them without hesitation with Wanda right beside him. Natasha isn’t far behind, cursing in several languages.

He rounds a sharp corner, following the direction of the claw marks into a long hall and pushes himself to go faster.

They’re too far behind. Steve can’t even see Sam, who had been wrapped in the Shifter’s tail. But he keeps plowing forward. He can’t fail Sam after his friend gave up so much for Buc- _their_ cause.

“Steve, stop! They didn’t go that way!” Natasha’s voice cuts through his racing thoughts.

He almost topples ass-over-head as he stops himself. Shaking himself to clear those thoughts away, he runs back to her and Wanda. The girl is staring up. Steve follows her gaze as he gets closer. He can see the distinct hole he had entirely missed as he ran under it.

“Wanda-”

“Steve,” Natasha interrupts him before he can get Wanda to send him up through the hole. “He’s been injured.”

She motions to the floor. Steve almost doesn’t look, but he pushes through the tightness in his chest.

It’s not enough to suggest Sam is already… already dead, but it’s enough to suggest a decent sized wound.

“We’ll have a trail at least,” Natasha says, and he almost lashes out at her for her callousness.

He may not like that line of thought, but she has a point.

“Wanda, send me through,” he commands because he is _not_ risking what happened when she went through first happening again.

Red enshrouds him before he’s launched up through the hole.

The sunlight nearly blinds him as he comes out, tucked, and rolling away from the hole as he brings his gun up and sweeps the roof for the Shifter.

He’s alone.

“Shit!”

“Steve?!” Natasha calls from below.

“Clear!” he snaps.

Natasha appears from the hole similarly to him, followed by Wanda.

He ignores them both as he focuses on the roof, looking for a blood trail.

He finds it heading east.

“This way.”

They follow him as he tracks the blood off the roof and into the forest as fast as he can without missing the trail. He’s not trying to delay them more by being unobservant again. He only snaps out of it when Wanda’s powers halt his steps. Before he can reprimand her, Natasha speaks.

“It’s toying with us, Steve. The trail has been circling back to the jet. Stop hyper-focusing and look at the entire picture!” she snaps before taking off toward the jet.

Something ugly flares in his gut before he shakes it off and bolts after her.

They arrive at the jet in only a few minutes.

“I don’t remember leaving the hatch open,” Wanda whispers as they cautiously approach the aircraft.

“We didn’t,” Natasha growls, grabbing her two revolvers and prowling toward the hatch.

“Nat!” he snaps and tries to overtake her.

But she’s already dashing into the jet with fox-fire glowing around her head. Steve follows after quickly, bracing himself.

The jet is empty.

Only the medical drawer has been left open.

“Redwing is gone,” Wanda says, startling him away from the dread that settles in his gut.

Natasha moves to the cockpit and starts manipulating the console. Seconds later, the hatch snaps shut, and a short ‘hold on’ comes from Natasha before she’s got the jet prepped and lifting off with a forceful jerk.

“Did you find his signal?” he calls out to her, grabbing onto the ceiling to keep steady.

“Maybe. The signal is weird. Five miles out. Thirty seconds to drop, so be ready, Steve.”

He moves quickly to the hatch. She opens it soon after, moving as close to the treetops as she can without blocking the jets.

Steve leaps, slowing his fall with branches. He reaches the ground in under a minute, his gun up and ready. The forest is thick; the gloam making details harder to see.

There’s no sound indicating life. Only the wind through the thick canopy from the jets.

“How far am I from the signal?” he asks into his com.

“About fifty yards east give or take ten yards,” she says through the unusual static on the coms. “Be careful, Steve. It can make itself completely invisible. We didn’t know it was in the room until it _let_ us.”

“Noted.”

He hears her snarl at him but pays it no mind as he trots east between the trees.

He would have missed him if the slow blinking red light didn’t show where Sam’s wings were.

Steve forces himself to approach slowly, keeping an eye on his surroundings as he draws closer to the blinking light. He prays they aren’t too late.

A loud _crack_ comes from his left.

Heart pounding, he points his gun and waits.

His hand is trembling.

He wants to Shift, but he can’t take to the air and fight in these thick woods. He could still do it, he’s even stronger in that form, but those eyes see better in bright light. He’d be practically blind here.

“Steve?”

“Hold,” he whispers, slowly reaching up and turning on the flashlight at his shoulder.

He and the deer both startle, the buck fleeing further into the trees as he gathers himself with deep, shaky breaths.

“False alarm,” he breathes out. “I see Sa-... I see the EXO wings’ SOS light.”

“Is… is Sam with it?” Wanda asks softly.

Steve takes a deep breath before turning so the light will reveal the state his friend is in.

The wrecked EXO reflects the light, almost like an accusation.

It’s the blood splatters on it that bring him to his knees.

“Steve? Report,” Natasha barks.

“He’s not here,” he whispers.

He breathes in shakily before forcing himself back up on his feet.

“The EXO is wrecked. Has some bloodstains…” he says, making his way over to gather the suit.

“Scout the area. The Shifter may have left the body further away from it.”

“Don’t-”

“You can yell at me if you don’t find a body,” she snarls. “We’ve been here too long, Rogers. We need to fall back and find out what the hell happened because _no one_ should have known we’d be here. The location is too remote.”

He only manages to hold it together for thirty seconds before he’s attacking the nearest tree. Steve doesn’t stop until it’s listing against its neighbors.

“Copy,” he growls, switching on his other flashlight and starting the perimeter sweep.

Fifteen minutes later, he gathers up the savaged remains of the EXO wings and getting ready to rip into Natasha because there is no _body_ to recover. He pauses when he feels something gouged into the metal. 

He flips it over.

Steve’s heart nearly stops as the words sink in.

_Shall we play again?_


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He chases your shadow into the night; the chill up your spine.
> 
> Are you ready to play the ultimate game?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have another (unbetaed) chapter, happy, happy New Year all!

_Mexico - South of the U.S./Mexico Border outside Nogales - 4 pm_

It’s been three months since Sam’s… abduction. Steve refuses to consider Sam is dead until they find a body. Any and every John Doe corpse they catch wind of, Steve sends her to check. He and Wanda try and find more information on the Shifter. Natasha thinks he’s wasting his time following that lead. What she saw of the Shifter… well, she’s never even heard a whisper of such a form.

Not in real life.

So she’s taken a different approach to find Sam.

She’s trying to track down _who_ leaked their location. If she can find them, they will lead them to the Shifter.

It’s going slower than she’d like. Having to move more often impeded their investigation on all sides.

The feeling of eyes steadily on her keeps her on edge, too. The Shifter’s message carved into the EXO suit hovering just behind every corner, every person who takes notice of them.

She can tell both Wanda and Steve feel it too.

Like they’re being hunted.

The predator in your blind spot.

Watching.

Waiting.

They moved to more populated areas despite the risk just to try and escape it.

They did… for a little over a month.

No matter where they went -even down into the sewers at one time- that feeling followed them, and it got worse in the cities.

The Shifter could be anyone.

It’s maddening, and Natasha is positive that psychotic Shifter is actually following them instead of her paranoia just acting up.

Taunting them and laughing in that _horrifying_ way.

She startles hard when her phone rings. With shaking hands, she picks it up as Steve gets into her space, a question telegraphed on his face. It’s not the first time she’s wanted to punch in his perfect face for doing this shit, but she’s getting dangerously close to doing it.

It’s also not the first time she curses herself for following her heart and letting Steve and Barnes go. She should have listened to her tails and stayed with Tony. Maybe then he wouldn’t have ended up in the hospital for sixth months fighting with Steve and Barnes against five super soldiers.

“It’s Clint,” she snaps. “Back off.”

His look of hurt phases her less and less the longer they’re on the run, hunted, and trying to find Sam.

“Let him know I said ‘hello’, please?” he asks softly.

She nods to get him to leave. Once he’s left her space, she moves to the area in the warehouse she’s claimed for herself. She needs some distance. Steve has been wearing a hole in the floor as they wait for her contacts to get back to them. Wanda’s been stuck to Steve’s side like a burr and backing everything Steve decides on.

They’ve been driving her already overworked nerves to the edge, and she’s not sure what’s going to happen when she snaps.

She sits on the old mattress she found -it was clean despite its obvious use, thank Simargl- and lets the call ring out. Natasha answers after Clint has completed the complicated call sequence they came up with years ago.

“Hey, Nat Attack.”

Thor, she misses him like a limb.

“Hey. I wasn’t expecting you to call for a few more weeks.”

“Maybe I just missed your dulcet tones, my matryoshka doll.”

She chuckles and lays down, staring at the ceiling, listening to Clint tell her what he and the kits have been doing. He’ll get to the reason he called sooner or later.

Domovoy, she _misses_ them, and it pisses her off even more with herself for following Steve; at him for dragging Clint into this mess when he didn’t need to be. Tony had told her he wasn’t bringing Clint in _because_ of his family, but Steve hadn’t even hesitated. But she agrees with their idiot leader about keeping Clint out of the loop about Sam. Clint can’t afford to run off again.

“Hey, Nat?” Clint asks, pulling her from the near meditative state listening to him put her in.

“Hmm?”

“I know you’ve seen a lot of different Shifters, so which one walks on four legs, but also six? Cooper and Leila said they saw a Dragon near the treeline, but those don’t-”

“Did they tell you what it looked like?” she demands, all warm comfort and contentment vanishing and leaving fear and dread in their wake as she jerks up.

Heart pounding, she listens for his reply as she scrambles off the bed and gathers her weapons and slips on her armor.

“Clint!” she barks when he doesn’t reply fast enough.

“They didn’t see much, Nat!” he snaps back. “They’ve only seen a long lizard looking thing around dusk walking the property line on the west side before it goes into the woods.”

“Then how do they know how many-”

“They don’t. I was asking because I’m following tracks that don’t make sense unless it has six limbs and is at least seven feet tall.”

“Clint, I need you to go back to the house and lock it down. I’ll be there as soon as I-”

_Clickclickclickclickclick._

“What the hell-”

“Run! Damnit, Clint, run!” she howls as she sprints down the hallways and up flights of stairs.

She ignores Steve and Wanda’s yelling as she presses the emergency hatch release button on her suit for the jet.

Natasha races toward the Quinjet parked on the roof, sprinting into it and pressing the ‘oh shit, close!’ button on her way to the cockpit.

“What the fuck is chasing me, Nat?!” Clint pants over the phone.

She doesn’t answer as she gets the jet airborne and punching it, transferring the call to the jet.

“Nat!”

“We don’t know!” she snaps. “It showed up on our last mission and took Sam.”

Shit.

“It what?!”

“Just run, Barton!”

She listens as he swears, her enhanced ears catching the sound of his footsteps pounding against hard soil and crunching leaves.

Hears the scraping of claws against bark and branches breaking.

“Above you!” she shouts right before a loud _crash_ comes through the speakers.

“Fuck!”

“Clint?!”

“Fine! Thanks! Would have run right into it!”

“Get back to the house, Clint!”

“I’m trying!”

“Try harder!” she snarls as she pushes the jet to its limit with the stealth tech on.

She prays to every deity she knows she gets there in time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Barton Farm - the woods around the property - 5:30 pm_

Try harder.

Like he wasn’t a baseline Human running around the woods at dusk with a creature he can barely _see_. The only thing he can see well are red eyes whenever it drops in front of him. It’s done nothing but chase him, and he feels like he’s going in circles…

_Fuck._

“I’m being herded,” he gasps out, jumping over a fallen tree he’s sure he’s already run into.

“I swear to you, if you get taken, I’m going to kill you myself when I find you,” she snaps at him. “Don’t get herded!”

The creature lands in front of him again, the vibrations shooting up his legs unpleasantly and decides to take his chances.

He’s running out of options and stamina.

Clint charges its flank and skids through the small opening he can just see beneath its torso to the other side. He runs, not looking back when something breezes past the back of his neck.

_Clickclickclickclickclick._

“How far out are you?!”

“Another six minutes. Get to the house!”

“I got it, Tash! Just give Laura the signal!”

“You’re not-”

“Just do it!”

He dodges and skids around and under the creature -even over it at one point-, feeling like it’s toying with him for all the close calls with claws and snapping jaws he has. Like it’s having _fun_ chasing him around the woods before it decides to eat him. 

He’s not letting it keep him from getting back home.

“Almost there,” he pants, finally punching through the treeline, his house like a beacon with all the floodlights on.

One. Two steps within the light.

Something clips his feet.

He lands hard and rolls until he lands on his back, unable to groan as his lungs try and exit his chest to get enough oxygen.

“Clint?! Clint, answer me, damn it!” Nat’s voice howls through his phone speakers.

He turns his head and sees it just in reach.

“Clint!”

He reaches for it.

_Clickclickclickclickclick._

“Cli-”

The phone snaps in two when a long, black spike impales it. He’s lucky his hand wasn’t on it.

A blast of hot air hits the side of his face.

Slowly, he turns his head.

A large, glowing red eye stares at him inches from his face.

He flinches back on instinct even though he knows he can’t move. Not with the pricks of pain on his thighs, accompanied by a slight weight.

He’s been caught.

Black lips curl up, revealing gleaming dagger-like teeth in a horrifying mockery of a smile.

_Clickclickclickclickclick._


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Are you the hunter or the prey?
> 
> Would you know?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in everything my readers. I, un/fortuneatly work in an essential position, so it's been a bit hectic. I'm grateful to still be with a job, but with that comes not being able to take even a long weekend to reset right now. I also found out that I've got family who have contract Covid-19 and my headspace hasn't been the best...
> 
> Anyway, short update for AtA: Hunter, but I felt like it ended where it needed to.
> 
> Enjoy!

“Hey, Tones?”

“Hm?”

“How do you catch a fox?”

There’s a long pause.

“Depends on how quick you want to catch it.”

“How about in the next few weeks?”

“You go after the nest.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The speakers’ static fills Natasha’s mind as that clicking laughter echoes in her ears.

“No…” she pleads as the well-lit farmhouse comes into view. “No, no, no!”

She lands the jet haphazardly, only taking a second to turn the engine off, before sprinting out of the aircraft.

“Clint!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sweat drips into his eyes. 

Clint swallows hard when he hears Natasha howling his name. The claws at his throat twitch against his skin as the creature begins rhythmically clicking softly above his head.

_Click-click, click-click, click-click, click, click-click, click-click, click-click._

He can’t see the thing despite feeling its claws at his throat and waist, its larger legs bracketing him on the porch steps, and the large chest brushing against his back every time it breathes. It’s fucking invisible and he can’t figure out how.

“Clint! I swear to Inari I’ll kill you if you’ve been caught!”

_Click, click, click-click, click, click-click, click-click, click._

His heart stutters in his chest when he recognizes the tune.

This whole horror film worthy event is a _trap_.

“Clint!” her howl comes from around the corner of the house.

“-!”

He can’t speak…

A single claw taps against his vocal cords.

Shit. Shit-fuck, fuck, _fucking-shit_! It did something to him after it knocked him out and posed him on his own damn porch like a mannequin doll!

The claws at his waist clench enough to prick his skin through his clothes as the giant chest behind him vibrates. It sends every hair on his body on end and he wants nothing more than to run for his life. Like the vibration reached down to the very base of his being and tried to grab it between its jaws.

Clint looks up when the vibrations stop in time to see Nat sprint into the front yard, turning away from the house to look out into the night and howls his name again.

She’s not paying attention. She should have heard his heart trying to exit his chest with those fox ears of hers.

When Nat whirls around to face the house, she freezes when her glowing eyes land on him.

Then she’s sprinting toward him. Clint prays she notices everything _wrong_ with this setup, _right, now_!

“Clint, you bastard, why-”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Something whistles quietly through the night air, and only Natasha’s ears and instincts keep her from being flattened or stabbed before whatever it slams into her stomach and sends her rolling away from Clint.

She shifts, rolling to her paws as her five tails thrash about, foxfire blazing and electricity crackling around her. She snarls as she scours the area trying to find the bastard with her enhanced eyesight. Natasha howls, daring the snake to face her wrath.

_Click-click, click-click, click-click, click, click-click, click-click, click-click._

‘_No!_’ she thinks, gaze snapping to Clint.

Like stepping through a sheet of water, the Shifter appears, towering over Clint as their claws tap against the throat of one who has belonged to her skulk since she escaped the KGB.

Their body slowly appears, lounging along the entirety of Clint’s porch like they’re welcome to her home.

Something slams into her left flank pushing her sideways, her claws digging into the ground to keep her footing as she snarls. She turns to face whatever it was, but her left back leg gives out.

She can’t move it. It tingles like it’s gone to sleep.

Natasha feels the air shift, another attack coming from her right. She manages to avoid the force of it, but still something brushes against her skin.

Snarling she attempts to rush the bastard still clicking on the porch, intent on getting Clint out of their grasp.

Her backend gives out. Everything from her hips down tingle, unresponsive to her commands.

She howls, ready to send a blast of electricity at the bastard’s head.

‘_How dare this-_’ 

Natasha yelps as something forces her to the ground, her chest aching under the pressure. She tries to crawl away with only two working limbs with little success. She glares at the Shifter, but it hasn’t moved. Their tail lazily thumps against the porch to the rhythm to that awful nursery rhyme. Natasha tries to push herself up this time, but whatever is keeping her down, pushes her harder into the ground and something pricks against her spine.

A different sound, a _familiar_ sound rumbles above her head. She only just manages to twist her neck enough to see another Shifter appear through the veil.

A Wyvern.

A _poison_ Wyvern.

Her vision starts going hazy as she stares at the dark skinned Wyvern. Only the bright red stripe on their head comes into focus anymore.

Natasha whines, sluggishly twisting her head back to look at Clint. Her brother.

She howls weakly as Clint’s body slums against the porch.

The monster starts slowly crumbling like water down stairs, that clicking laugh echoing along the breeze.

Her vision fades, red eyes burning into hers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Red eyes slowly open, contracting as the warehouse lights shine into them. Mandibles split wide as they yawn, jaws snapping shut with a light ‘_click_’.

Lazily, those red eyes drift down to the warehouse door where a Griffin and a witch frantically try and contact their comrade.

They glow brighter, a pleased rumble vibrates up from their chest as a phone chimes with a message.

_‘Down came the rain and washed the spider out.’_


End file.
